After our latest round of evaluations related to Final Cut Pro, it’s clear to me that the software does some remarkable things. It manages media in a completely new and interesting way – and once you learn what you can do with it, for a stand-alone editor, it is really powerful. You can search by tags (similar to other NLE apps). As an individual working on various types of projects, managing your media, laying it into the magnetic (which can be demagnitized, if you like) timeline, and building a story quickly is pretty trick.
However, if you collaborate, FCPX is equally remarkable in its snub of TV and Film production.
Why are professionals so annoyed by this latest release? There are many comparisons that can be made, but the bottom line is that TV and film editors have specific functions that are not just traditional, they’re part of the established workflow process. Final Cut Pro changes the workflow and creates a completely new paradigm and for these individuals, its too much, too soon, and misses many of the simple requests that they’ve been showering Apple with for a number of years.
Is this iMovie Pro? Generally speaking, FCPX is a pro version of iMovie. And, if you look at the catalog of Apple software, it’s supposed to be just that. Just as Aperture is a “pro” version of iPhoto, FCPX is a “pro” version of iMovie. Who didn’t see this coming?